World News Roundup: India set to ship drug sought by Trump for coronavirus; Easter season goes virtual as coronavirus locks out tradition and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

PM Johnson out of intensive care as he continues COVID-19 recovery

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was resting in hospital on Friday, recovering from COVID-19, while his fellow Britons were told to resist the temptation of spring sunshine over Easter as the coronavirus outbreak approaches a peak. The flamboyant 55-year-old leader's visible decline shook the nation, but he came out of three nights of intensive care at St Thomas' Hospital on Thursday, having been admitted after suffering from high temperature and cough.

Notre-Dame service a message of hope for France in coronavirus lockdown

Nearly a year after a fire devastated Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, the city's Archbishop held a small ceremony there to mark Good Friday, praying that Easter's message of rebirth might bring comfort to a country stricken by the coronavirus pandemic. Only seven people, including Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit, attended the solemn service in the apse behind Notre-Dame's Pietà due to the nationwide lockdown across France, but many more watched on their televisions.

India set to ship drug sought by Trump for coronavirus

India is set to begin shipping the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to the United States where President Donald Trump has touted it as a potential weapon against the coronavirus. "The first shipments should start next week," said Sudarshan Jain, secretary general of Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA).

Easter season goes virtual as coronavirus locks out tradition

One Catholic priest in rural coastal Ireland delivered socially-distanced blessings from a moving vintage "popemobile". Another in Germany taped pictures of his parishioners to empty pews and televised his Mass.

Spain's coronavirus death toll curve flattening at last

The coronavirus death toll curve in Spain flattened further on Friday as the government discussed different strategies to start phasing out one of the world's strictest lockdowns. Spaniards have been off the streets since mid-March, but a slowdown of the COVID-19 disease's spread and its death toll has enabled officials to start discussing a gradual easing.

China's Wuhan to keep testing residents as coronavirus lockdown eases

China's Wuhan city, where the global coronavirus pandemic began, is still testing residents regularly despite relaxing its tough two-month lockdown, with the country wary of a rebound in cases even as it sets its sights on normalizing the economy. Concerns remain over an influx of infected patients from overseas as well as China's ability to detect asymptomatic patients, and the government in Wuhan has tried to reassure the public that it remains vigilant.

Tokyo seeks shop shutdowns, Kyoto warns tourists away as coronavirus threatens Japan economy

Metropolitan Tokyo asked some businesses to close and the ancient capital of Kyoto warned tourists to stay away as Japan battles a fast-spreading outbreak of the new coronavirus, amid fears the government's measures are too little and too late. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said she was targeting a range of businesses for shutdowns from Saturday during a month-long emergency through May 6, after resolving a feud with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's team over the extent of the closures.

South Korea reports recovered coronavirus patients testing positive again

South Korean officials on Friday reported 91 patients thought cleared of the new coronavirus had tested positive again. Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), told a briefing that the virus may have been "reactivated" rather than the patients being re-infected.

Drivers to Switzerland's scenic south stopped by police in virus crackdown

A road under the Alps to the sunny south of Switzerland normally jammed with holiday-makers was deserted on Friday as police warned drivers against travelling to the region worst hit by the new coronavirus pandemic. Officers stopped all vehicles heading towards the Gotthard Tunnel after the government appealed for people not to travel over the Easter weekend to stem transmissions of COVID-19, the highly contagious lung disease caused by the virus.

Locked-down French care home combats loneliness with Skype chats

The Skype call had to be rebooted, but after several attempts, Danielle Martin, a 71-year-old locked down inside a French retirement home, could finally see her niece Nathalie via the tablet propped up in front of her wheelchair. "There you go, now I can see her," the pensioner said to Emilie Neumann, an employee at the home whose job since the coronavirus outbreak involves compering video calls between residents and their families.